Word today is that Matuidi and Enrig (spelling?) are next.

Also that Zog wanted £60,000 a week and Pardew told him to f*** off.

25 years ago today that goal was scored.. (either the one with the hand or the finest in WC history), but look at the England team that day:

England: Shilton (Southampton); Stevens (Everton), Fenwick (Queens Park Rangers), Butcher (Ipswich Town), Sansom (Arsenal), Hoddle (Tottenham Hotspur), Steven (Everton; Barnes (Watford), 75min), Reid (Everton; Waddle (Tottenham Hotspur), 65min), Hodge (Aston Villa), Lineker (Everton), Beardsley (Newcastle United).

There is a noticeable range of teams represnented and not a Liverpool Manchester or Chelsea player to be seen. How things have changed.

An era when people would pull on an England shirt and it meant something to them.

Barnes and Waddle as subs, can you imagine!

yeah barnes maybe should have started that game he mudered them the last 10 mins.

Interesting managerial appointment by Chelsea today.

At 33 will Villas-Boas be able to cope with players like John Terry????

Easily. Sell the aged primadonna to someone like Port Vale.

Might have to pay his wages for them, but probably worth it.

Seems to me like Abramovich is trying to go back down the Mourinio path without actually having to go groveling to the special one to do it. Catching lightning in a bottle for a second time seems a tall order.

Will be interesting to see how the new guy adapts, he seems to be a fine manager, but is this too big of a job too soon I wonder.

Gonna be nice to participate properly in the 'EPL' (which by the way doesn't exist) thread, supporting my team, albeit probably for 1 year.

The might Swans playing proves its not EPL, anyway in my youth I was a big fan of ELP if that helps.

Remember your start last time in the top league, 4-1 against Leeds?

I think Swans will do well, everyone i spoke to was very impressed.

It was 5-1 and I missed it, I was at Reading for the Rock Festival that weekend with a couple of friends from Leeds


Basic survival will do this time, it does bring back great memories thopugh, seeing the BBC and you tube films of the time, especially the top of the table clash, 1st pos v 2nd pos Swansea v Man Utd, where we were top at the time and we won 2-0.

Personally hate everything about the Premiership now, the way the 'bigger' clubs have tied everything up, takes away the dreams of the smaller clubs who years ago could compete.

I agree with your sentiment that the game is far more predictable now and this is highlighted by the fact that it is very rare a team outside of the top 4 lifts the FA Cup. Something that happened frequently until the 90's.

However I thought last season the bottom half of the Premier League improved immensely. Smaller clubs on their home turf produced alot of upsets and this I thought really improved the league.

United and Chelsea took alot of stick for their inability to pull away and their wayward form away from home- but it is really good for the game.

My theory is that when they chnaged the parachute payment system on relegation from the Premer League to spreading cash out over 4 years- it took the sting out of being relegated and rather than teams having to necessarily shed stars they are able to come back stronger.

Anyway good luck to Swansea and lastly if you have any tips on players in the Swansea team who are likely to score decent fantasy football points personal message me! I don't want Oink, IainK or Steve Lowe stealing a march on my indepth planning this season!

Ooooh, look what I found!

I was at all the home games in that and I was at the away leg of the semifinal against Rangers, but I had to listen to the away leg of the final on shortwave radio.

I didn't even know that the video of that match existed. I'm a happy man!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g_yV...layer_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmPo5...layer_embedded

That music...the Fairs Cup....it's a knockout....those goalposts....Alan Foggon age 19

Newcastle has always been my second team, so I remembered Alan Foggon when we played Cardiff in the lower divisions.

It was such a shame, he looked like a barrel with legs for Cardiff, never seen a professional player so fat.